5 Best Places to Shop in CST and Environs, Mumbai

This narrow thoroughfare is lined with dozens of stores crammed with antiques and general bric-a-brac: clocks, old phonographs, brassware, glassware, and statues—some of it quite cheap. Over the years the value and breadth of much of this stock has dwindled, but there's still a chance that you'll find an unusual, memorable piece. In the same lane a number of shops are engaged in the profitable business of constructing new furniture that looks old; many will openly tell you as much. Some shops do stock genuine antique furniture from old homes. Keep an eye on your purse or wallet and come relaxed—it can be chaotic.

Brave bargain-hunters should take a trip to chaotic Daboo Street for all sorts of leather goods.

Crowded, congested Muhammad Ali Road has some of the best eating in the city, especially if you go during Ramzan. For those strong of stomach, go to Haji Tikka (ask a resident, he's well known) for kheeri tikka, marinated cow udders grilled right in front of you. Or if it's late at night, to Valibhai Paayawala, where the meat is cooked through the day on coal fires, dum style, until it is soft, luscious, unresisting enough to fall off the bone at the slightest nudge and dissolve into the gravy. Order the paya (trotters), the pichota (oxtail), the nalli (thigh or shanks) or the topa (neck)---it doesn't matter which, but make sure to scoop it up with the fluffy, charred tandoori rotis. Finish the meal with hand-churned sancha ice-cream at Taj Ice Cream (they use a 120-year-old ice-cream making recipe)---the guava is a firm crowd favorite.

There's a whole row of food stalls all the way down—just follow your nose or go for the one with the longest line. If you're adventurous and relish food from regions far and wide, you won't be disappointed.

On historic Sheikh Memon Street (named after a Sufi saint), you'll find plenty of smaller, cost-effective jewelry shops such as Zaveri Naran Das. Insist on knowing how many karats you're buying and whether or not the store will stand by the piece's purity. The street is also home to purveyors of all sorts of knickknacks such as toys, crockery, and sunglasses, many of which are sold wholesale for lower prices than elsewhere.

In business since 1865, this is said to be the largest jewelry showroom in India, with five floors of gorgeous 18-, 22-, and 24-karat gold, diamonds, and silver jewelry. It has many branches across the city.